Ten Years to Save the West

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Ten Years to Save the West
Ten Years to Save the West.jpg
E-book cover
Author Liz Truss
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Memoir
Publisher Biteback Publishing (United Kingdom)
Regnery Publishing (United States)
Publication date
16 April 2024

Ten Years to Save the West is a memoir of the former British prime minister Liz Truss, published on 16 April 2024, [1] by Biteback Publishing in the United Kingdom and Regnery Publishing in the United States. [2] The UK edition is subtitled "Lessons from the Only Conservative in the Room". [3] The US edition is subtitled "Leading the Revolution Against Globalism, Socialism, and the Liberal Establishment". [4]

Contents

The book contains Truss's account of her meetings with various heads of state and government, including her meeting with Elizabeth II two days before the monarch's death, with Truss claiming to want to see a global "conservative movement revival". [5] Truss wrote the book herself without the use of a ghostwriter. [6] The book was announced by Truss on the social media platform X. [2] [7] [8] She promoted it by speaking at the Heritage Foundation in Washington DC and by giving television interviews. [9] [10]

Summary

The book charts Truss's career through a succession of ministerial posts, including junior minister at the Department for Education; Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Lord Chancellor, Chief Secretary to the Treasury; Secretary of State for International Trade; Foreign Secretary; and finally her tenure as Prime Minister. [3] Throughout the book, Truss identifies institutions and people that she blames for opposing the changes she wanted to make. These include what she calls the "anti-growth coalition" as well as the judiciary, the civil service, the "global left", and environmental and animal rights organisations. [3] She complains of a "distinct shortage of expert voices" in support of her economic reforms. [11]

Her Conservative party colleagues David Cameron, Michael Gove, and Rishi Sunak come in for criticism, as do "CINOs" (Conservatives In Name Only) who, in her view, supported her insufficiently. [12] [3] She also criticises foreign leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and French President Emmanuel Macron. [4] For the financial crisis that followed from her and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget, she blames the Office for Budget Responsibility, the Bank of England, and the Treasury. [3]

In the section about her time as Prime Minister, she talks about the difficulties she had living at 10 Downing Street, saying that the role involves presidential responsibility but without the necessary support. [13] She describes her reaction to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, which she summarises as "Why me? Why now?" [12] The closing chapter of the book consists of "important lessons we can learn so we can win". She calls for "the leftist state" to be dismantled and for conservatism to triumph "across the free world". [9] She proposes dismantling the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation and the World Health Organisation. [14]

Controversies

According to the Cabinet Office, the book broke the Radcliffe rules, which limit what former ministers can publish in their memoirs. Truss shared a draft of the book with the Cabinet Office to be vetted, but the office did not give full approval for the final wording. In particular, the book disclosed conversations with the Queen, which the rules prohibit. [15] [16] [17] [18] According to a spokesperson, Truss believed her breach of confidentiality was in the public interest. [16] [17]

The book included a quote wrongly attributed to Mayer Amschel Rothschild, founder of the Rothschild banking family. Truss found the quote, which has long been part of anti-semitic conspiracy theories, online. After a complaint from the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the publisher Biteback agreed to exclude it from future editions. [19] [20] [21] Truss described herself as "horrified" to learn the quote's origin. [22]

Reception

The book received predominantly negative reviews. Critics, including those politically sympathetic to Truss, described the book as detached from reality, self-serving, [10] [11] and revealing a lack of comprehension regarding the gravity of the situation during Truss's premiership. [23] [24]

David Gauke, a former Member of Parliament in the Conservative party, argued that the lessons to be learned from the book are not the ones that Truss herself draws. He interpreted the book as a story, not of powerful vested interests, but of a politician with "a simplistic mindset and a reckless temperament" who achieved little in her political offices. [3] A similar assessment was given by Tom Peck in The Times, who said Truss "appears psychiatrically incapable" of learning from her own experiences. [10] Andrew Rawnsley in The Guardian described it as an "unintentionally hilarious" book characterised by intense self-pity combined with a lack of self-reflection. He said it only has appeal as a cautionary tale of zealotry. [12] The Telegraph gave the book four out of five stars, contrasting it against the "snoozefest" memoirs of other politicians. The review agreed with Truss's assessment that left-wing values had been absorbed into the British establishment, but described the author herself as lacking in self-awareness. [13] The Independent awarded one out of five stars, calling the book "one giant whinge" that inverted the facts about Truss's career in order to portray her as having done nothing wrong. [4] Stuart Jeffries in The Guardian called the book "unstoppably self-serving" and "cliche-ridden", saying that its purpose, like that of many other political memoirs, is to rewrite history for the benefit of an author unable to accept responsibility. [25] Patrick Macguire in The Times criticised the book as tedious and muddled, raising interesting questions but offering confusing or contradictory answers to them. For British conservatives, Macquire said, the book is "worth enduring". [14]

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References

  1. ↑ Peck, Tom (13 September 2023). "Liz Truss has a deranged plan to 'save the West' (who from – herself?)" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 Schofield, Kevin (10 September 2023). "Liz Truss is writing a book about how to 'save the west' and people have thoughts". HuffPost . Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gauke, David (19 April 2024). "What's the point of Liz Truss?". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 O'Grady, Sean (17 April 2024). "Liz Truss's ludicrous memoir shows how unworthy of office our shortest-serving PM was". The Independent. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  5. ↑ Ferguson, Donna (9 September 2023). "Liz Truss to 'share lessons' of her time in government in new book". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 9 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  6. ↑ Britton, Paul (10 September 2023). "Liz Truss, prime minister for 49 days, to 'share lessons' of time in government in new book". Manchester Evening News . Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ↑ Mitchell, Archie (16 April 2024). "Liz Truss book: Key revelations from the ex-PM's 49 days in No 10". The Independent . Archived from the original on 16 April 2024.
  8. ↑ Pearson, Allison (16 April 2024). "Liz Truss interview: 'The people who claim I crashed the economy are either very stupid or very malevolent'" . The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024.
  9. 1 2 Boulton, Adam (21 April 2024). "What Liz Truss and Donald Trump have in common". Sky News. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 Peck, Tom (27 April 2024). "If you think Liz Truss's book is deluded, the TV interviews are even worse". The Times. ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 27 April 2024. It has already been observed by everyone who has reviewed Ten Years to Save The West, that its author has become utterly detached from reality and entirely delusional.
  11. 1 2 Chorley, Matt (16 April 2024). "Liz Truss's book reveals a total absence of self-reflection" . The Times . Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 Rawnsley, Andrew (21 April 2024). "Ten Years to Save the West by Liz Truss review – economical with the truth about her own downfall". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  13. 1 2 Stanley, Tim (16 April 2024). "Liz Truss's riotous romp of a memoir proves she never stood a chance". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  14. 1 2 Maguire, Patrick (21 April 2024). "Ten Years to Save the West by Liz Truss review — as readable as a crisp packet". The Times. ISSN   0140-0460. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  15. ↑ Keate, Noah (19 April 2024). "Liz Truss broke UK rules with book revealing queen's advice". POLITICO. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  16. 1 2 Allegretti, Aubrey (25 April 2024). "Liz Truss's book not cleared to reveal details of chat with Queen". The Times. ISSN   0140-0460. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  17. 1 2 Baker, Tim (18 April 2024). "Liz Truss's book Ten Years To Save The West in breach of rules in place on minister's memoirs". Sky News. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  18. ↑ Penna, Dominic (18 April 2024). "Liz Truss memoir broke our rules, says Cabinet Office". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  19. ↑ Francis, Sam (19 April 2024). "Antisemitic false Rothschild quote cut from Liz Truss memoir". BBC News. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  20. ↑ Cobham, Tara (19 April 2024). "Liz Truss accused of using 'fabricated' Rothschild quote in new memoir". The Independent. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  21. ↑ Croft, Ethan (19 April 2024). "Londoner's Diary: Liz Truss book publisher vows to remove 'fabricated' quote". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  22. ↑ Pope, Felix (19 April 2024). "Liz Truss 'horrified' to have included fake antisemitic Rothschild quote in new book". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  23. ↑ Hinsliff, Gaby (16 April 2024). "Liz Truss has kindly offered to 'save the west'. But who will save her from her delusions?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024.
  24. ↑ Belam, Martin (16 April 2024). "Liz Truss quiz: did she really say that in her book?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024.
  25. ↑ Jeffries, Stuart (17 April 2024). "Ten Years to Save the West by Liz Truss review – shamelessly unrepentant". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2024.


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